Top Ten Tuesday - Top 10 Tips for New Bloggers

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme from The Broke and the Bookish.  The purpose of this meme is to create a list based on weekly prompts.  Just link back to The Broke and the Bookish, then add your name and blog post to their link widget.  That's it!

I've been thinking about writing a post along the lines of today's topic for a while now.  I probably will write up a more formal post, but for now I'm looking forward to getting my thoughts down.

Top Ten Tips for New Bloggers

1. Don't get hung up on your follower count!  You have plenty of time to build your following and you'll want to gain readers, not just followers.  Take your time and build your blog the right way.
2. Find your voice!  Take the time to find your writing and blogging style.  If you take this time and learn more about your way of doing things, you'll know what works and what needs to be changed.
3. Disable captcha on your comments!  Many of us agree.  We want to leave comments on your blogs, but the captcha can be difficult to decipher at times.  You don't want people to give up before posting their comments.  Concerned about spam comments?  From my own personal experience, I have only ever gotten 1 spam comment.  Not so bad, huh?
4. Don't fall victim to the "gimme gimmes!"  Sure, all of those ARCs are pretty and look like so much fun.  However, you don't want to become entitled.  That's a sure way of alienating both readers and publishers.  Concentrate on building your blog.  There are so many great books out there.  I promise, you don't have to have ARCs to have a great review blog.
5. Don't summarize too much in your reviews!  Readers want to know what you thought of the books you read.  If you summarize too much, you risk posting spoilers that none of your readers will be happy about.
6. Get involved in the community!  Don't be shy.  The book blogging community is an awesome one and you can make some great friends here.  Whether you build relationships through your posts' comments or via Twitter, there are some great people to get to know!
7. Don't use noisy widgets!  There's nothing more jarring than visiting a blog only to be startled by a sudden, loud sound effect or music clip!  Posting widgets such as this has the potential to drive away your visitors.
8. Embrace scheduling!  The scheduling capability on Blogger or Wordpress is your new best friend.  Writing posts ahead of time rather than at the last minute can help free up your valuable time.  After all, you've got reading to do!
9. Don't go overboard with memes!  When I first started book blogging, I never met a meme I didn't like.  However, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.  Not only do memes take time, too many can drastically affect your blog's outward look.  If the majority of your monthly posts are memes, it isn't going to attract as much wanted attention.  Pick a select few memes that you enjoy and remember, you don't even have to participate every single week.
10. Critique the work, not the author!  There has been a lot of drama as of late, some founded, some not so much.  One thing keeps coming up, however.  When writing your review, stick to sharing your thoughts on the book: the way it is written, the effectiveness of the story, the elements that make it up, etc.  Don't insult or flame the author.  Even if you didn't like the book, remember: the book is not a reflection of the one who wrote it.  Keep it professional and do your best to avoid hostility.